Sutton charts the rise of the seven-day notification, which Saison has now instituted (penalty for missing the deadline: $248). Other Bay Area restaurants who make Eater’s nationwide list don’t require nearly the same advance time–one or two days — but the per-person cost of a no-show at Meadowood, Benu and Atelier Crenn runs into the hundreds.

Charging last-minute fees for tasting menus does make a certain sense; after all, few people show up unannounced for a $400 dinner, replacing a table that had flaked. Avoiding no-shows is a big reason why Coi is introducing a prepaid ticket system. The French Laundry requires guests to confirm their reservation three days in advance, and only after a reservation is confirmed does the restaurant charge a last-minute cancellation fee ($100 a person).

Calling around to other multi-starred places, it appears that fees at other high-end restaurants are more reasonable:

La Folie‘s cancellation is the most hospitable: According to co-owner Jamie Passot, slackers who don’t give the restaurant 24 hours’ notice are charged $80 per person, the price of a meal–which is returned to the diner in the form of a gift certificate. That’s like being spanked with mink gloves.

The takeaway: If you give a restaurant a credit card number, you need to fulfill your obligations. Be the grasshopper, not the ant.